OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY

environment and its effects, and prevent the harassment from recurring.
These duties are a school’s responsibility even if the misconduct also is covered
by an anti-bullying policy, and regardless of whether a student has complained,
asked the school to take action, or identified the harassment as a form of
discrimination.

Appropriate steps to end harassment may include separating the accused harasser
and the target, providing counseling for the target and/or harasser, or taking
disciplinary action against the harasser. These steps should not penalize
the student who was harassed. For example, any separation of the target from
an alleged harasser should be designed to minimize the burden on the target’s
educational program (e.g., not requiring the target to change his
or her class schedule).

In addition, depending on the extent of the harassment, the school may need
to provide training or other interventions not only for the perpetrators, but
also for the larger school community, to ensure that all students, their families,
and school staff can recognize harassment if it recurs and know how to respond.
A school also may be required to provide additional services to the student
who was harassed in order to address the effects of the harassment, particularly
if the school initially delays in responding or responds inappropriately or
inadequately to information about harassment. An effective response also may
need to include the issuance of new policies against harassment and new procedures
by which students, parents, and employees may report allegations of harassment
(or wide dissemination of existing policies and procedures), as well as wide
distribution of the contact information for the district’s Title IX and Section
504/Title II coordinators.11

Finally, a school should take steps to stop further harassment and prevent
any retaliation against the person who made the complaint (or was the subject
of the harassment) or against those who provided information as witnesses.
At a minimum, the school’s responsibilities include making sure that the harassed
students and their families know how to report any subsequent problems, conducting
follow-up inquiries to see if there have been any new incidents or any instances
of retaliation, and responding promptly and appropriately to address continuing
or new problems.

When responding to incidents of misconduct, schools should keep in mind the
following:

The label used to describe an incident (e.g., bullying, hazing,
teasing) does not determine how a school is obligated to respond. Rather,
the nature of the conduct itself must be assessed for civil rights implications.
So, for example, if the abusive behavior is on the basis of race, color,
national origin, sex, or disability, and creates a hostile environment, a
school is obligated to respond in accordance with the applicable federal
civil rights statutes and regulations enforced by OCR.

When the behavior implicates the civil rights laws, school administrators should
look beyond simply disciplining the perpetrators. While disciplining the perpetrators
is likely a necessary step, it often is insufficient. A school’s responsibility
is to eliminate the

11 Districts must
designate persons responsible for coordinating compliance with Title IX,
Section 504, and Title II, including the investigation of any complaints
of sexual, gender-based, or disability harassment. See 28 C.F.R.
§ 35.107(a); 34 C.F.R. § 104.7(a); 34 C.F.R. § 106.8(a).